ITP Class Blog: Intro to Fabrication

First I designed and drew three patterns in Adobe Illustrator (Figure 2).

Figure 2A

Figure 2B

Figure 2C

Then I placed these patterns into another illustrator file that mapped out the coasters for the laser cutter. Each coaster consisted of three parts, one 4” circular base with a 3.55” circular pattern etched on top, and two rings (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Coaster Laser Cutting Layout

Figure 4 shows the process and results after laser cutting.

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Two rings were glued to each base in order to create a rim for the coasters (Figure 5).

Figure 5: Glue setup

Once the glue dried, I sealed the coasters with polyurethane and they were ready for use. Figure 6 shows the final product.